The right influence marketer, an individual who is regarded as a thought leader and a trusted source in a particular industry or niche, can do wonders for a brand. Whatever industry you operate in and services or products you sell, a single positive recommendation from an influential, trusted source, can be all it takes to build brand awareness and take your business to greater heights.

The trick is to find the right influence marketer for your specific brand and niche. Easier said than done! To give your business a push in the right direction when it comes finding the right thought leader, Small Business Trends caught up with Brandon Brown, CEO and co-founder of the influencer marketing platform, Grin, and asked him to share with us his 10 tips on how to find influencers for your brand.

How to Find Influencers for Your Brand

Understand Your Target Networks

When looking for the right influencer, it’s important to understand your target networks, says Brandon Brown. For example, which networks are most effective for your target audience? When you have an understanding of your target networks, you can identify an influence marketer which has a strong following and presence on such networks and will likely to effectively promote your brand on the specific target networks.

Focus on Brand Fit First

Is your brand fit for purpose? Prior to searching for the right influence marketer, ensure you have a defined and clear brand purpose first to ensure your brand is identifiable to your audience.

Analyze the Influencer’s Audience

When searching for the perfect influence marketer for your brand, Brandon Brown advises you should analyze your influencer’s audience. Does the influencer’s audience and following correspond with your own target audience and following? If not, that particular influencer might not be the right one to help your brand reach its target audience.

Vet Influencers Based on Engagement

Which influencers generate the most engagement on social media platforms? Which have the most active social presence, the highest number of followers and deliver content that gets engaged with the most? Prior to choosing an influencer, vet their social media channels and opt for ones which generate maximum engagement.

Give Influencers a Framework for Your Message

To generate maximum effectiveness from having an influencer sponsor your brand, be sure to present the influence marketer with a framework for your message, which highlights the key aims and objectives of the campaign. This will give both yourself and the influencer greater understanding of whether they are up to the job.

Don’t Stifle Influencer Creativity

That said, don’t bombard the influencer with so much information, strategies, objectives and demands that their creativity is stifled. Ensure you give the influencer enough room to let their creativity and knowledge benefit your business to the maximum.

As Brandon Brown says:

“Don’t stifle influencer creativity.”

Use Research Tools

Using influencer marketing research tools like Grin, which intelligently segments influencers across thousands of interests to deliver highly contextual search results, is an effective and efficient way to identity and locate the right influence marketer for your industry and your specific business.

Such advanced tools also help small business owners stay organized with their influencer research and export influencer data with ease.

Approach Content Collaboratively

As their roles develop and grow, influencers are seeking greater authenticity and collaboration with brands and businesses. Content should be approached collaboratively between your brand and your influencer to maximize the effectiveness of the collaboration and reach out to and engage with a broader audience.

Boost Content via Paid Afterwards

When you have identified the most qualified influence marketer for your brand and have a fresh supply of engaging content being spawned out to a wide spectrum of followers, Grin’s CEO and co-founder suggests boosting the content further via paid methods and optimizing its reach.

Be Authentic

Finally, Brandon Brown says when looking for the right influencer for your brand, always go for authenticity. Keeping content authentic and avoiding just plying the social channels with content for the sake of it, will maximize the appeal of your brand on social domains and help you get the most out of your chosen influence marketer.

Get your choice of influence marketer right and your small business may soon be on the road to bigger things.